Farewell May....

How we are heading into the 6^th month of the year is quite amazing, this year is

passing so quickly. May was a month for me filled with some big decisions, some travel, fun and a reminder that friendships are very special. May also saw me catch-up on some blog posts from previous months, I was on a role until I lost broadband at home for 10 days which made me realise how dependant our lives have become on technology & wifi, so I still have a backlog of posts which I am slowly working my way through.

So where do I start!.... May saw me celebrate 10 years of being at the big yellow store, I have had an amazing adventure at the home of Mr Selfridge, but my adventure is coming to an end as I have made the decision to leave and start a new adventure with a new family. From August I will be joining the Fenwick family on Bond Street in a new role. This is hugely exciting and has been a really big decision for me, it's one that has taken up lots of sleep, and counsel with my closest friends over the past few weeks along with lots of meetings and discussions once the big decision was made. Aside from this work has been busy with new launches, a celeb guest appearance from Kendal Jenner to launch the new estee edit range and I also have spent lots of time exploring the streets of London on my walk to and from work.

Last month I spent a Saturday afternoon walking the streets of Hampstead with Emily and some of her makelight ladies, this month I spent a lovely afternoon exploring Kew green and gardens with Emily and some new makelight ladies… pop back later this month when I will share more of my day.

May saw 2 weekends filled with big Rugby adventures as Saracens reached the finals of both the European Champions Cup and the Aviva Premiership cup… the champions cup was held in Lyon. I had a fab 24 hours in the French countryside. The Aviva premiership was a little closer to home in West London at Twickenham on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Both games Saracens were the victors, sealing the double in Europe and the Uk which has made for lots of celebrations. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at both games, even if Sarries did make for a nail biting finish in both games!

Closer to home I have been enjoying some down time reading, walking, catching up with friends and enjoying some relatively good weather (although today is quite horrid).

May also saw me book a holiday for next year with my Aunt, not only has she managed to get me away from my desk for 16 days, she has also managed to get me to agree to going on a ship!... we have booked to cruise the Baltics, travelling to St Petersburg and then back via Sweden / Norway… so I'm swotting up on my Danish & Russian, with Wallander, The Killing and war & Peace cued up on my kindle & ipad.
May saw London awash with floral displays to coincide with the Chelsea Flower show, I enjoyed a couple of early morning walks photographing some of my favourites; Claridges, Peggy Porschen, and The Ivy Garden on the Kings Road. (separate blog post to follow). The Kits turns 3 in May and Fitz passed the day sleeping and Darcy spent it trying to eat my peonies that I bought back from France!.... I have so many blog posts to share, I hope that you pop back over the coming weeks to read more of my adventures from the month along with regular features. I hope that May has been filled with lots of lovely things and I look forward to sharing June with you ... 

Insta Love ~ May

May has been a busy month for me on social media today I am going to share some of my favourite images posted during the month, later this week I am going to share some of what I've been doing on Social media and some photo adventures..
May's instagram has been awash with images of Spring moving into Summer and a lot of my feed was filled with gorgeous pictures of blossom's and wisteria... I couldn't just pick one image so there are 9 of each along with 9 of the fun things that made me smile this month along with 9 gorgeous images of a fab launch from M&S!

• Oh My Gandy ticked lots of boxes with this image of Simon Le Bon, Yasmin and David Gandy at the recent Vogue 100 party.
• Love Claridges feed and their lobby florals were beautiful during May.
• Johnny Yonkers is one of my favourite photographers that shoots in and around New York, this stunning image of the One World Trade center in its birthday month is stunning.
• Sticking with New York, this image from the Empire State Building is lit purple & blue to honour those that have fallen within the line of duty for Police Memorial week.... beautiful.
• Blue bell love from Buildarocketbickers is captured perfectly.
• Fireworks captured over the bay of St Ives from my friend Ali Mcnamara is just fabulous... here week on the Cornwall coast is captured gloriously in her feed this month.
• A new feed for me this month, but with her glorious home covered in wisteria I have fallen in love with Charlotte_annefidler 's posts... how beautiful is this sunset.
• Georgianlondon's image of wisteria in charlbury is perfect....
• and finally Emily Quinton's image of her bouquet which she created 100 images from one bouquet on her Makelight account is lovely.

May started with the blossom season in full bloom... here are a few of my favourites from some of my favourite places in beautiful hues of pink...
* katya_jackson - has captured the early blooms of blossom along with a lovely coordinated little fiat 500
* dancingwiththeflowers -bicycles and magnolia.. perfectly coordinated, a dreamy feed, so many lovely images.
* meanderingmacaron - another favourite feed.. whats not to love about blossom and little figaro's
* sparrowflu - Michael shoots some of the most beautiful images of London.. this blossom at St Pauls is stunning.
* nyclovesnyc - Noel's image of the cherry blossom at roosevelt island is fabulous. I love his images of new york.
* love this image that dc_explorer - captured of marine one flying past the Washington monument and the cherry blossom is fab.
* janemeans image of the blossom at the Notre Dame in Paris is delightful... a departure from her ribbns and wrapping, but have loved her images of her recent trips to Paris and Luxembourg. - wrapping around the world.
* Having visited the the_berkeley  last month, their flowers are some of my favourites each month... how beautiful are these blossoms
* winsomelaiws  is a travel food photographer and when Starbucks launched their spring cups, she captured it perfectly against a backdrop of cherry blossom.

  Charlotte_annefidler wisteria covered house is just gorgeous in both daylight & dusk.
3. Love mrsjpage 's image of her wisteria and her gorgeous boxer Izzy... the look of indifference is just fabulous.
4. Elena's capture of a pink door behind the wisteria in Notting hill is stunning.
5. Love this shot of the wisteria in Cambridge by scwilder it is lovely.
6. Room with a view captured perfectly by amykatefelicity.
7.Georgianlondon's wisteria in London is perfect - this year it seems that the Wisteria has bloomed in abundance.
8. I couldn't post favourites without an image from Emily Quinton this house in Dulwich is delightful.
9, Final image is of Siobhaise the perfect pretty city london shot.

My final favourites for the month of May are from M&S and the gorgeous David Gandy. May saw the launch of DG's 2nd swimwear collection with his Gandy autograph collection with M&S. Shot in on the South African coastline it is just gorgeous.... along with the video this has brightened many a dull day in May!

Thankyou all for sharing such lovely images during May, they have been beautiful, fun full of flowers, fauna & delicious men! With 3 instagram accounts now -@tcake31 for London life and things that I love,@tcaketess for planner, crafting & stationery happiness and my healthy eating journey on @tcakes_sw_adventure pop over and say hi... look forward to seeing what May brings on insta love.

I hope you have had fun with my social media Sunday loves ... here's some from previous months... 

Book Love - May

My reading challenge continued in May with 5 books completed, a little bit of a slowdown from April. This was partially due to the fact that I am walking more after work which cuts into my reading time on the tube as I am now walking from Bond Street to Liverpool Street a couple of times a week when the weather is fine.

This months reads are a mixed bag of mystery, murder, love and friendship and have taken me to Italy, Jersey, 'Up North' the South of France and the English countryside.

Last month I waxed lyrically about a new author that I had discovered Helen H Durrant, May saw me continue with the Calladine / Bayliss police partnership in the 4^th book of this detective series with Dead Lost. The pair find themselves investigation a series of events which lead to a group of homeless people that have set up camp in a disused cotton mill, which as the story develops becomes more horrific. Alongside this the pair have to juggle their personal lives alongside their professional, as the investigation develops they find that the crimes are are further reaching than they imagined. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and with each story they become a little more darker and complex. D.I Calladine is definitely becoming a little bit of a guilty pleasure and look forward to reading the next in the series.

My next read saw be hoping the channel to Jersey for Georgina Troy's – A Jersey Kiss – here we meet Bea who along with dealing with a messy divorce is learning to live without her beloved god mother. Bea's god mother has left her, her beautiful home along with "A Jersey Kiss" which is proving to be a bit of a mystery. At work an old flame Tom reappears in her life, along with a gorgeous builder Luke who she hires to action some repairs to her home. With her ex-husband threatening court action for half of her home, Bea's life is a little chaotic, with the thought of losing her home, and some serious trust issues she has little time for romance, however things aren’t always as they seem and the mysterious legacy could be the thing that saves it all. This is a lovely story and I really liked Bea, being familiar with Jersey having spent some time there in my teens it was easy to visualise some of the places within this book. Having enjoyed this book I immediately downloaded the 2^nd book within the series which is loosely connected to book 1.

A JerseyAffair is Georgina's 2^nd book and features Paige. Paige is jilted days before her wedding and decides to spend her honeymoon for one in Sorrento. Paige is a shoe designer and has a small shop within one of Jersey's old department stores. Whilst on her 'onemoon' she meets Sebastian Fielding, a wealthy entrepreneur, he spends a platonic 2 weeks with Paige showing her the sights and sounds of Sorrento and its surrounding coastline and Paige's broken heart slowly begins to mend. On returning to Jersey Paige finds out that her department store is being taken over and the mystery buyer is none other than Sebastian, can their budding romance survive the threat of Paige losing her shop and  dealing with the press intrusion. Another delightful read from Georgina and had me scouring travel sites for a short stay in Sorrento. Sebastian is quite delicious and I enjoyed catching up with some of the characters from the previous book…. Book 3 is now downloaded and sitting in my "to read" list.

My 4^th read of the month is a Jill Mansell novel – Three Amazing things about You. Jill is one of my all-time favourite authors and yet again she didn’t disappoint with this book. In this book we meet 3 women, Hallie, Flo and Tasha unbeknown to each of them they will all become connected in ways that they never would have thought of; Hallie is a young women who is on a donor lost awaiting a lung transfer having suffered with cystic fibrosis all her life. We meet Hallie as she is heading for the hospital having received the call that a donor has been found. Hallie for the past few years has been hiding a number of secrets; 1. She is the author of a blog which answers peoples problems via 3 things about you, what she has never shared is who she is and the condition she has, she shares her secret on route to the hospital. Her other secret is that she is in love with the most perfect man, something she has never shared with her best friend or even him an now time is running out should she share that secret too? Flo has met Zander through the most bizarre circumstances, Zander's scary sister loathes Flo and the thought of them becoming friends would send her apoplectic, anything more would send her crazy. Tasha meets her perfect man and the only issue is that he is a bit of an adrenaline junkie, the complete opposite to safe, planned Tasha. She spends her tome apart from him worrying that something terrible is going to happen. One day all these womens lives collide and their lives will be intricately woven for ever more. This was a thought provoking emotional read, and Jill manages to make you laugh, cry and think in every chapter. I loved Hallie and desperately wanted her life to be better… I will leave it up to you to read to find out if she got her happy ending and got the courage to share her secrets.

My final read for the month is The Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard – Emmy Jamieson books a fortnights escape to a guesthouse in the French Countryside with her boyfriend Nathan. After 5 years their relationship has become a little dull and Emmy is hoping a couple of weeks in the south of France will inject a little life into their lives. Having barely unpacked Emmy's holiday takes a turn when she finds her boyfriend with his pants down with the owners cougar wife Gloria and the owner Rupert collapsing with a suspected heart attack unaware of his wifes antics. Nathan & Gloria scarper and leave Emmy holding the fort at the guesthouse and gites. With Rupert convalescing, Emmy agrees to stay and help out for the remaining holiday. She finds herself thrust into the heart of the local community which involves a sexy young gardener, and a infuriating delicious accountant. Emmy finds herself extending her stay and with Ruperts support she has some decisions to make about her future. This is a lovely read and one that I devoured whilst travelling through the French countryside on Eurostar with a large coffee and croissant. I loved Emmy and the characters were delightful. I do hope that Helen does a follow-up as I am sure that there are future stories with some of the supporting cast.

Thankyou authors for 5 fab reads for May, I've enjoyed travelling in Italy, France, Jersey alongside some heartache, murder, mystery, fun and friendship…. I am now 33 books into my 75 book reading challenge…. Here's the previous 28 from 2016.

Make-light in Hampstead

A few weeks ago I spent a fun filled Saturday afternoon exploring and

photographing the streets and heath of Hampstead with a dozen other ladies. I had never visited Hampstead before and grabbed the opportunity to explore this lovely little corner of London with Emily Quinton. I met Emily a couple of years ago when I attended one of her photography workshops, I enjoyed it so much I spent a day food styling with her last year. Emily has now added photography walks to her make light portfolio in some of London's most loveliest of places.

The walk started early afternoon and although the day was a little cold and overcast it didn’t spoil the fun that the groups of us girls had in the lanes and side streets of Hampstead. I'm not sure what any of the residents thought of us snapping images on our phones and cameras of their front doors and gardens, but I fell in love with many of the houses and gardens as we walked around.

 No time with Emily would be complete without a prop or two and a beautiful bunch of blooms from a local florist added much fun and silly image opportunities for some of us along with video fun from E herself.


After a good couple of hours of walking, photographing and chatting we finished the day off with tea & cake in a local restaurant, swapping images, instagram accounts and details. I enjoyed myself so much that I came home and booked for the next walk which will be within the grounds of Kew gardens.

Prior to meeting up with the makelight ladies I spent an hour exploring the heath and the surrounding streets leading to the high street. 

Some of my favourite images from the day are of a man and his gorgeous dog….

24 hours in Lyon ..... part1

I have already shared the 2^nd half of my 24 hours in Lyon with some culture and food, the first half was a little different and evolved around a game of rugby. My trip was planned to attend the European Champions Cup Final between Saracens and French team Racing Metro.

This was Saracens 2^nd time reaching the Final of this championship, having lost to Toulon in Cardiff at the last final, so there was much to play for in France. When Saracens won their semi-final I was on the internet immediately booking tickets for Eurostar and the game as I knew with Racing metro securing the other spot it would be incredibly popular. This game would also allow me to see one of my rugby hero's Dan Carter who now plays fly half for Racing after leaving New Zealand and the All Blacks after the world cup.

With the weather a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers it would make for a greasy game. The game was being held at the newly built Stade de Lyon stadium on the outskirts of the town. The main public transport to and from the ground is via tram, which was much fun and a first for me to travel to a from a rugby game in. One of the things that I noticed lots when I was travelling to and around Lyon is the poppies dotted everywhere. I saw lots from the Eurostar as I travelled across France and it really struck a chord to see them. There were several blooming around the ground which many fans commented on as we walked to the game.

I arrived at the game early as I had been told to expect lengthy security checks and they didn’t lie, aside from the Olympics this was the lengthiest checks that I had ever had at a game; including a full body pat down. Arriving at the game early allowed me to see Jonny Wilkinson being interviewed by Will Greenwood and the squads warming up between the very heavy rain showers. This also allowed me to spend lots of time gazing at Dan Carter and his thighs as Racing were warming up near to where I was sitting!.

Having purchased my ticket from the French ticketmaster I found myself surrounded by Racing fans who were very friendly and not too hostile as the game commenced!

With a fanfare of fireworks the game kicked off at 5.30 to a huge roar from the crowd. The ground was a sea of blue with pockets of red and black for the Saracens fans.

 From previous experience final games are usually tight fought contests, with neither side wanting to take too many chances, thus preventing conceding penalties and points. This game was much of that with both teams holding tight to the ball and points being gained from penalty kicks instead of trys.

All points scored by Sarries coming off of the boot of Own Farrell. Racing always seemed to be on the back foot and were penalised a number of times. With heavy rain during the warm-up hour it made for a slippery and greasy game with the ball being lost by both teams several times.

 2^nd half saw Racing attempt a comeback and at one point with minutes to go I thought that they may push a try across the line, however the Sarries boys held their nerve and defence and were crowned champions as the final whistle blew.

Huge celebrations took place as the Champions cup was presented and red & black flags waved around the stadium to roars of "Sarries". Here are some images from the game and the after celebrations.

The atmosphere was amazing and I am so glad that I made the journey from home to Lyon to watch the game, I got to see so many Rugby heroes: Jonny Wilkinson, Dan Carter and Sarries lift the Champions cup a bit of a dream weekend for a Rugby girl.

24 hours in Lyon .... part 2

Last weekend I spent 24 hours in the beautiful old city of Lyon in France.  Lyon sits a couple of hours south of Paris by train and is in France’s Rhône-Alpes region. It sits at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Its city centre reflects 2,000 years of history, with a Roman amphitheatre in Fourvière, medieval and Renaissance architecture in Vieux Lyon, and the modern, redeveloped Confluence district on the Presqu'île peninsula between the rivers. With only a short time in the city and predominately there for a game of rugby I had to be very selective on what I wanted to visit and see.

My trip started at St Pancras where I boarded a Eurostar bound for Marseille which stopped at Lyon and Avignon. St Pancras is my favourite station in London, the architecture, light and ambience of the space is just stunning. Arriving early I ambled around enjoying the relative quiet of the station, even thou there was some people around. St Pancras Station was opened in 1868 and is one of the wonders of Victorian engineering, it is a masterpiece of Victorian Gothic Architecture and one of the most elegant stations in the world. It has seen huge decline and restoration over the past 30 years and is now the hub for all Eurostar international travel. How amazing must it be to arrive in London for the 1^st time via train and see this beautiful building and hotel.

With a simple check-in and boarding we were soon departing London heading for the Channel, I had when booking my tickets managed to grab a Business premier ticket for the same cost as standard fare. This was a little luxury for what would be 4½ hours on a train. With a complimentary breakfast, drinks and magazines the time flew and we were soon pulling into Lyon Gard de Nord to disembark.

Saturday was predominately filled with the rugby which left no time for exploring, however Sunday dawned bright and dry and before I headed back to the UK on the afternoon train I wanted to explore this city a little more. A lovely lady who I had met on the train advised me on 2 things; if time is limited then the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is a must for beauty, culture and history and as Lyon is renowned for its food then you must visit the farmers / food markets that run alongside the 2 rivers within the city on a Sunday morning.

With my hotel next to the metro I jumped on a train and headed to the old town of Fourvière, where I then picked up a ride on the Funicular (a tram/cable car carriage which cuts through the cliffs up to the top of the hill) to the Basilica. Perched on top of the Fourvière hill, the basilica looms impressively over the city of Lyon, from where it can be seen from many vantage points; not unintentionally, the basilica of Fourvière has become a symbol of the city. As impressive as the basilica is from the outside, nothing prepares you for how stunning it is from the inside. The ceiling, guilt work and stained glass windows are just beautiful. I arrived half way through the morning mass and it was lovely just to sit at the back and enjoy the hymns, and the ambience of the space.

Exiting the basilica the views from the grounds are impressive across the 2 rivers and town. Leaving behind this gorgeous old town I headed down the cliff and across the river to enjoy the food market. The market was fabulous, filled with the most delicious aromas, produce, groceries and flowers. It was a tempting treat and I created a picnic breakfast/brunch of fresh treats; pain au chocolate, nectarines, apricots, and coffee to enjoy sitting on the river bank. I also bought some cheese, apple tart and fruits to bring home along with a beautiful bunch of peonies.

It was soon time to head to the station to pick up my train to Paris, where I then boarded the Eurostar home. I really enjoyed Lyon and would definitely visit again, especially as the train is really easy and also has great train links to other locations including South of France, Geneva and Barcelona.

an evening at Koffmans....

Not sure where May is whizzing to but I'm still playing catch-up with blog posts from April!... at the end of April my friend and I spent a gorgeous evening being dined in a beautiful restaurant with a menu by one of my hero chefs; the fabulous Pierre Koffman.

As we had an evening planned at the Royal Albert Hall, I had booked the pre-theatre menu which allowed us to dine early. Koffman's is situated at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge and is quite beautiful.

As an avid fan of The Berkeley's instagram account, we entered the restaurant via the hotel so that I could peak at the stunning floral displays dotted throughout the hotel. The week that we visited the hotel and restaurant where filled with glorious pink blooms of roses, peonies and lisianthus complimented with candles and storm lanterns.

The stunning floral displays continued into the restaurant and complimented the beautiful décor.

With a Prix Fixe menu to choose from I opted for Blue Cheese Flan with walnuts for Hors-D'oeuvres, Pan Fried Skate wing with capers for Plats Principaux and Lemon tart with Lemon Sorbet for Dessert all accompanied by a glass of champagne. Everything was delicious, beautifully presented and the service amazing. Koffman's was a first for both my friend and I and we both said that we would definitely return again as we had enjoyed it so much.

I have visited the Berkeley for afternoon tea a couple of times and will now ass Koffman's to my list of London musts!... thank you to all for such fabulous, food, service and ambience. 

Guilty pleasure .....

A few weeks ago I spent a lovely evening with my friend C celebrating her birthday with some fabulous food and then an evening of entertainment at the Royal Albert Hall. It is ages since we both have caught up in much detail and it was nice to spend some time chatting over dinner before we headed to what is one of my favourite venues in London. 

I had booked for her birthday tickets to see Michael Bolton, now those that know me well and have followed my blog over the years will know that this isn't the first time that I have seen MB and it a bit of a guilty pleasure for both me & C.

On arrival at the venue we had a little problem with our seat, and the lovely man was able to accommodate us by moving us and we ended up in a box for the night!...so much fun!

With Gabrielle warming up the crowd Michael opened to a lively audience of which he serenaded, rocked and crooned his way through an impressive set list. What I like about seeing MB in concert is that his sets are incredibly varied, an acclaimed songwriter he has the ability to cover multiple genres and generations with his songs that he has written for himself as well as others.

Set list for the evening included;

·         To Love Somebody

·         Sittin on the Dock of the Bay

·         Said I loved you but I lied

·         That's Life

·         You Don’t know me

·         Nessun Dorma

·         When a man loves a women

·         To make you feel my love

·         Time, Love & Tenderness.

We had a fabulous evening, singing and dancing along with many others and have no doubt that we will book again to see Michael when he tours again.

Hello May....

A little late with welcoming May, but hello. Life has been a little hectic and I will share more during May.
April finished a little warmer than it had started and the first week of May has been glorious.
I have some lovely things planned including a weekend trip to Lyon to watch the European Rugby Cup Final, another photography walk, and an evening with Beverley Knight.

I have a number of blog posts in draft to share including:
* my slimming world and walking adventures.
* my make-light walk through the heath & village of Hampstead
* continued adventures from New York and Washington
* my April make-over and evening with Michael Bolton

Regular posts will include the books that I have read during the month, my Instagram and social media favourites and share with you some of the slices of my life in London, home & the kits.
As you can see the blog has had a spring make-over from the yellows of April, to the blues and pinks of May.... heres to a fun filled month.

Goodbye April...

So I'm a little late in saying farewell to April, but life has been a little busy and stressful (something which I will share with you during May). April was a month of finding some time to continue my healthy lifestyle and enjoy the lighter mornings and evenings. I caught up with friends and made some new ones.
I spent a glorious Saturday exploring the village and heath of Hampstead which was a first for me and I loved it. I will share more of my makelight walk in May.

* I loved the lighter mornings and I'm now walking to the station through the park at least twice a week, the sunrises, ducks and sunsets are the perfect de-stress from work.
* Hampstead was beautiful, sprinkled with sunshine and yellow, perfect for this months blog palette.
April saw us move offices and we are now sharing a space with the Food buying teams, which lends itself to lots of samples!.. this lemon meringue and raspberry brownie from meringue girls were amazing (not great for the slimming world!!)
April had some cold spells, but signs of spring were everywhere and I enjoyed seeing the blossoms & spring flowers bloom.
A fabulous new space opened at work and I dined at the new Hemsley & Hemsley cafe. I had a lovely lunch with my 2 oldest besties which was filled with fun and lots of laughter. The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday and I spent an evening at the Albert Hall with my friend & Michael Bolton (guilty pleasure).

I hope you all had a fab April and a May filled with blossom, love, laughter and lots of fun.

Insta Love - April

Its Social Media Sunday on the blog today and time to share some Instagram favourites from April. Yellow hues are favoured on my blog styling for the month, and this features heavily within my insta likes as well for this month.  Sunrises, Sunsets and signs of Spring.

* Meanderongmacaron's lovely image of one of my favourite pubs in Marylebone (complete with bicycles) is delightful. Her feed is gorgeous and posts lovely images daily.

* Having shared some of my Washington adventures on the blog this month it was no suprise that this snap of the Washington monument captured my heart from Ben and Jerry's. Ice-cream and sunsets the perfect combo!.

* Love this picture of Minnie, my homemakery friend Kate's gorgeous terrier... she is just delightful and looks like she is having lots of fun in the woods.

* Dan Doherty executive chef at Duck & Waffle not only cooks the most amazing food, he also shares some fabulous sunrises 42 floors above the streets of the city of London. just gorgeous.

* This gorgeous sunset and blossom from the essex countryside is just glorious .. thanks Gem for sharing. Lovely to see some of  the lovelier Essex other than that on Towie, from one Essex girl to another.

* I have porch & plant pot envy from this post by Charlotte. What a welcoming site this is, and how lovely to come home to that everynight. #dreamhome. I love the images from the window that she shares.

* The Berkeley features twice in my insta loves for April; the first with this glorious shot of blossom and sunrise in St James Park and the 2nd stars Big Ben in a bed of daffodils, delightful. ( I will be sharing some of my own adventures at the Berkeley later this month)

* This lovely yellow doored house from cookiesncandies from a London lane is lovely. Marlene's feed is full of her travels and adventures across the globe.

Thankyou all for sharing such lovely images during April, they brightened some cold days and spread a warm glow of Spring hues.

With 3 instagram accounts now - @tcake31 for London life and things that I love, @tcaketess for planner, crafting & stationery happiness and my healthy eating journey on @tcakes_sw_adventure pop over and say hi... look forward to seeing what May brings on insta love.

I hope you have had fun with my social media Sunday loves ... here's some from previous months...